If it's Alien
by jennibert
Summary: Torchwood London gets its hands on a certain Tamaranean, and from there a friendship blossoms. Mostly a Torchwood story after first chapter, with major spoilers for the first three seasons. (Eventually. If I get that far.) The Teen Titans belong to DC/Warner Brothers; Torchwood belongs to the BBC.
1. Rescue at Canary Wharf

He didn't usually take advantage of Bruce's connections, but desperate times called for desperate measures. There was no way they'd let him in as himself, but as a representative of Wayne Tech, he'd been of interest. Dick Grayson set his face into an expression that was every bit as much a mask as the one he wore prowling the streets of Gotham and walked through the front doors of the London headquarters of the mysterious Torchwood Institute.

It had been four months, two weeks, and five days since he'd last seen Starfire. She'd tried to talk him into going on vacation with her—"They say that in London there is a giant eye!"—but he'd declined, told her he was too busy and she should go have fun anyway. It was quite possibly the stupidest decision he'd ever made.

She was supposed to be gone only three days. The first day she'd called him, full of excitement at all of the things she'd seen—"They have pies made of meat!" He hadn't worried too much when she hadn't checked in on the second day, but when she hadn't arrived back as scheduled, he'd started to really be concerned. The Titans weren't really together any more—maybe she'd just stopped off to visit Raven or Beast Boy or Cyborg and forgotten to tell him. But none of them had heard from her either.

By the end of the week he'd been frantic enough to beg Bruce for help. By the end of the month even the unflappable Batman was deeply concerned when his considerable resources failed to turn up any trace of her. It had taken them months of work to even uncover the existence of Torchwood, let alone figure out that they were who had most likely taken her.

Now he was at Canary Wharf, claiming to be interested in some of the tech that Torchwood had as a means to get inside the building. Beside him stood the small, pale figure of Raven, posing as his assistant. In his pocket rode Beast Boy, transformed into a flea so as to pass unnoticed. Cyborg had been furious that he wasn't with them, but they knew it was possible that the mysterious organization had the technology to see through the illusion he sometimes used to hide his half-robot body. Until they were sure they knew where she was, they couldn't risk anyone getting suspicious.

They'd been given an escort, a young woman named Adeola. Dick and Raven took it in turns to ask intelligent questions while keeping their eyes open. They were in the research division when they finally found a clue.

The head of the department was an American named Thomas Gordon who seemed nice enough, if a bit manic about his work. But the clue came from an unassuming young man about Dick's own age who he would have barely looked at if Gordon hadn't stopped him.

"Ianto, could I bother you to bring our guests some coffee?"

"Of course, sir," was the reply. "I'll just put this away first." Dick would have taken no further notice of him it hadn't been for the fact that he was holding a bottle of yellow mustard with a straw in it.

He managed to turn his sharp indrawn breath into a coughing fit, during which time he pulled Beast Boy out of his pocket and issued a terse order to follow the man with the mustard. He and Raven delayed as long as they could, encouraging Gordon to talk about his research and lingering over the truly excellent coffee. After about half an hour, he felt a sudden weight in his pocket. He casually slipped his hand inside and felt feathers. Relief surged through him—a bird meant he'd found her. If she hadn't been there, it would have been a mouse. He gave Raven a signal and recognized the relief in her eyes.

It took them another hour to make their way out of the tower, but twenty minutes after that they'd joined Cyborg at the suite Dick had taken at the Hilton.

"They've got her locked in a room with some sort of collar on her," reported Beast Boy without any preamble. "The guy I followed gave her the mustard and apologized that he couldn't stay to talk. She called him by whatever that weird name of his was and said it was all right, but she looked so sad."

"Was she all right?" growled Dick, too emotionally spent to keep his voice calm. His friends took no offence.

"She didn't look hurt," shrugged Beast Boy.

"But Starfire doesn't really show injuries," added Raven darkly.

"I spent some time while you were gone hacking into their systems," put in Cyborg. "I didn't get much, but I think it'll be enough."

"How much more could you get if you had another two days?" asked Raven, and Dick glowered at her.

"Two days? TWO DAYS? She's been in their hands long enough!"

"We need to maintain our cover," said Raven tightly. "Unless you want them to know that Nightwing is tied to Wayne Tech?" Dick frowned, but said nothing. "And don't you think that if they know it's you, they'll come after her again?"

"I hate it that you're right," muttered Dick. "We'll have to tell them we're not interested and leave, then sneak back in for her after I've been seen back in Gotham."

Raven laid a hand on his arm. "We'll get her out, Robin."

"No matter what it takes," added Cyborg.

"Yeah," agreed Beast Boy. "Titans forever."

It ended up being four days before they were again by Torchwood Tower, this time in full kit as the Titans. Cyborg had identified a hole in the continuous CCTV coverage outside the building—or possibly manufactured one, Dick wasn't sure which. He waited in it now with Cyborg and Raven as Beast Boy scouted inside to make sure the coast was clear.

"Now, fifty feet ahead," came Beast Boy's voice on the communicator, and Raven wrapped her cloak around the other two and teleported them to his location. She looked pale even for her as they broke apart, but assured them she was fine.

They crept down the hall, Dick in the lead as always, trying to avoid the cameras as much as they could. No alarms went off, so he could only assume they were successful. They made it to the room where she was being held without obvious incident.

Beast Boy punched in the door code and Dick slipped into the room. Relief flowed through him as he laid his eyes on his girlfriend for the first time in months. She was pale and thin and wearing a heavy collar, but he saw no obvious injuries. Her face became incandescent with joy as she saw him.

"I told you my Robin would come for me," she said, and it was only then that he registered that she was not alone in the room.

It was the young man who had served them coffee. A little younger than Dick's twenty-five, a little shorter than his 6'2", and though his physique was somewhat obscured by the neat suit he wore, probably not as well-muscled. Raven slipped into the room as Dick took a step towards the younger man, who took an immediate step back.  
"You must not hurt Ianto," said Starfire, her voice weaker than he was used to hearing it. "He has been my friend while I have been kept here."

"There are cameras in this room," said Ianto in an accent Dick couldn't place—still British, but not the same as the London accent he'd been hearing all over the city. "They'll know you're here."

"No, they won't," growled Dick. "One of our friends is good with tech. It's on a continuous loop and not recording."

"It won't last long. There are fail safes." His face was impassive even though Dick was now right in his face. "You're sure it's not recording?"

"Yes."

"Then move quickly. I can't help you escape, but I can tell you that Gia and Francis are having a tryst in corridor A5 so they've turned off those cameras. And since Gia's in security, she knows how to get around the fail safes. That leads to C9, which leads out."

Dick looked directly into the younger man's blue eyes, but he saw no deception there.

"I've got it off, but she's weak," said Raven. "You'll need to carry her."

Dick nodded, going quickly over to lift her into his arms. "I wish to say goodbye to Ianto," said Starfire.

"You need to move," protested Ianto, but Dick, who knew her well, still took her over to him, suppressing a surge of jealousy when she kissed him.

"Hwyl fawr, Ianto," she said softly, and then she hit him across the jaw. Ianto dropped like a rock. "If he is unconscious, they will not think he helped us," she said as Dick slipped out the door. "I do not wish him to get into trouble."

"We planned to take corridor B7. Should we take his advice?" asked Cyborg, looking at a map of the building he'd called up on his arm.

"Yes," said Starfire positively just as an alarm went off.

"B7's cameras are now all on," said Cyborg frantically as the readings went crazy. "Guess we better try A5."

The Titans hurried through the lower levels of Torchwood, getting into a brief fire-fight in corridor C9 with some guards before breaking through to the outside. A5 had been clear.

Cyborg had dusted off the T Ship for this mission, something they all fit into a little less comfortably than they had ten years before—particularly Dick, who was nearly eight inches taller than he'd been at 15—but it worked. Torchwood didn't quite have the audacity to shoot them down over London, but they didn't take any chances. Adrenaline ran high until they were well over the Atlantic.

It was, typically, Beast Boy who broke the tension. "His name is Ianto?"

"It is Welsh."

"So I suppose that was Welsh you spoke to him?" asked Raven.

"Yes. He would always bring me mustard and listen to me when I was lonely and needed to speak with someone."

"What did they do to you?" asked Cyborg.

"I...I would rather not discuss it now."

"Are you okay?" asked Dick softly.

"I will be. My power comes from the sun, but since I have not seen it in so long….I am not even sure how long." She sounded lost. His brave, beautiful Starfire sounded lost.

"Four months, three weeks, and two days," supplied Dick. Silence met that statement, nearly oppressive in it is entirety, before Beast Boy again broke the tension with a joke.

Technically, they didn't live together; Dick had an apartment in the heart of Gotham, and Starfire had a small house in one of the nicer suburbs. The truth, however, was that they were most likely to be found together at one of two, which meant that Dick was as comfortable in her place as in his. He found spare linens so that Beast Boy and Cyborg could share the spare room and Raven could bunk on the couch while Starfire stood in the backyard and stared around her.

She said little that evening, though she did at least keep smiling, but he didn't call her on it until they were curled together in bed that night.

"You know you won't get over it if you keep it bottled up."

"I know," she said softly. "But I am not yet ready to get over it. I want to rage and scream at all of those terrible people who kept me there and poked me with things to see what would happen. I want to find them and poke them back, again and again until they scream as I did. I do not like this feeling, Dick. I do not like it at all."

He didn't know what to say—words were never his strong point, and years living with Bruce hadn't helped—so he pulled her tighter against him. To his relief, she relaxed for the first time since they'd left the Tower.

"I want to go home," she said softly.

"We are home—"

"Tamaran," she said. "I want to take myself far away from them so I do not do anything I would regret. Will you come with me?"

He had already exhausted every minute of his vacation and sick time looking for her, and his boss was a hair's breadth from firing him, connections to Wayne Tech be damned. None of that mattered as much as her. "Of course."

"I love you, Robin."

"I love you too, Starfire."


	2. Reunion in Cardiff

The knocking wouldn't stop. Ianto didn't know who it could be—Jack had already been there to check on him that morning and he hadn't seen any of the others since he'd left the Hub almost two weeks before. Since Lisa had died. Since she'd killed two people despite his best efforts. The sob nearly choked him, but still the knocking didn't stop. His head was starting to pound with it, which was the only reason he finally answered the door.

Instantly, Ianto found himself swept into a hug. "Ianto! My friend! You are unharmed!" All he could see was a cloud of red hair as his ribs were nearly crushed, but only one person he'd ever met spoke like that.

"Starfire?"

"Yes," she said as she drew back, and he could see the concern in her green eyes. "I am sorry I could not come sooner. After my friends helped me escape, I returned to my home planet for a time. By the time I arrived back on Earth, it was all over. I have been so worried for you, Ianto."

"I survived," he said dully. He took a step back, gesturing her inside. It was only as he did so that he realized she wasn't alone.

"Even though the bad people are gone, Robin did not want me to travel here alone," she said, shooting the man behind her a fond glance. For a very brief moment, Ianto forgot his problems as he recognized the man he'd been introduced to in London. _Oh my God, I know Robin's real name_.

"Thanks for looking out for her," said Robin, offering a hand. Ianto took it briefly.

"I don't have any mustard," he said as they went into the lounge. "I don't have much of anything." He hadn't needed much. He'd spent all of his time at the Hub, looking after Lisa. Once she was better, they were going to leave—things would only have weighed them down, which is why he had exactly two chairs in his entire flat. "I can make coffee."

"Yes, please," said Robin immediately.

"I have not tasted your coffee, but Robin and Raven said it was quite good," added Starfire.

He took his time with the coffee, using it to compose himself. He really didn't want the company, but he was too polite to turn them away when they'd come all the way from America to see him. He'd make small talk for a while, then they'd go on their way and he'd be alone. The way he deserved to be.

Starfire and Robin had managed to stuff themselves into the larger of his two chairs—an impressive feat when they were both over six feet tall. Ianto raised an eyebrow.

"That's not really necessary."

"We are quite comfortable," Starfire assured him, though Robin looked less convinced. They each accepted their cup of coffee and drank, Robin with a look of bliss and Starfire with an exclamation of surprise. "This is indeed wonderful! Why have I never tasted this before?"

"Because Cyborg's coffee machine makes nothing but sludge," said Robin easily. "Though this is exceptional even by non-sludge standards."

"I try," said Ianto mildly as he settled into the other chair. "What brings you to the UK?"

"We came to make sure you were okay." Starfire's green eyes were wide.

"We'd have been here sooner, but we had some difficulty tracking you down."

"One of the side effects of working for Torchwood." Not that it had stopped Jack, but then he'd had access to the same systems.

"But Torchwood is dead!" exclaimed Starfire.

Ianto rolled his eyes. "Torchwood London is dead. Torchwood Cardiff is alive and well." _No thanks to me_. He continued when he saw the fear that crossed Starfire's face. "They won't do anything to you. Jack's not like that. As long as you don't make yourself a threat, he's willing to live and let live." His voice choked on the last word.

"Ianto? Are you well?" Her concern was real.

"I'm fine."

"You don't sound fine," said Robin coolly.

"It's nothing," he insisted.

"No. You are not fine." Starfire rose from Robin's lap, crossing to Ianto. "What has happened to you?"

"I'm one of twenty-seven survivors of Canary Wharf. Do you know what happened there?"

"Details are sketchy," said Robin. "Batman managed to get more than most people, but it still wasn't much."

"It was bad." He stared into his coffee cup. "Death and fire all around."

"And yet you're working for them again?" asked Robin. "You went back after that?"

"I had to! They were the only ones who had what I needed to help her!"

"Help who?" asked Robin.

"Lisa," said Starfire. "Ianto, what happened to Lisa?"

"Lisa's dead," he ground out, his voice low and rough with emotion, though he managed not to cry. When his guests said nothing, he continued in a whisper: "She died at Canary Wharf, I was just too blind to see it."

He jumped when a hand rested on his arm, his eyes darting up to look deep into Starfire's. If there had been pity there, he could have driven her away with anger, kept her from probing deeper. But those brilliant green orbs reflected only sympathy and understanding, the shared pain of someone who has also suffered in her life. To Ianto's horror, he found that he couldn't seem to stop the tears.

"Robin, perhaps you could go out and find us something to eat," said Starfire softly, not looking away from Ianto for even a moment. Ianto barely even registered his departure as Starfire drew him out of his chair and into her arms.

He sobbed into her shoulder for what seemed like an hour, babbling out the whole sordid story. How frightened he'd been of the Cybermen and Daleks; how he'd pulled Lisa from the wreckage while the building burned; how he'd gotten her from Canary Wharf to a warehouse to his flat in Cardiff to the Hub; how frightened he'd been that the others would find out; how surprised he'd been to find he hated betraying the new colleagues that he rather liked; how Jack and the others had found and executed the being who was, in reality, no longer his lovely, wonderful Lisa. Through it all she held him tightly, making soothing noises but saying nothing.

He had cried himself out by the time he got to the end. "I'm on suspension," he told her dully. "Jack was within his rights to execute me, but he just suspended me. He's been by here every day to check on me. I don't understand why." He said nothing more, but the thought crossed his mind anyway: _I deserve to die for what I did. Why didn't he just kill me?_

"You speak highly of this Jack. Perhaps he thinks this of you as well. Perhaps he has also lost someone he loved and wished he could have saved her, as you tried to do."

"I could have killed everyone."

"But you did not intend to. What you did was not right, but you did it for love, and that is understandable."

"How can you just forgive me like that?"

"You are my friend. Is that not what friends do?"

"I helped them contain you!"

"And you helped me escape even though you knew that you could get in trouble for doing so. I cannot return that favor, but I can help you another way. It is not necessary to lecture you—you know that you were wrong. You need someone to listen, to let you forgive yourself for your actions. It seems that your Jack is trying, but he is too close to the situation. I am not."

"I'm not ready to forgive myself." As he said the words, he realized that this was the first time he'd suggested, even to himself, that he might someday do so. Starfire smiled at him.

"Someday." She fell silent, holding him close until a knock on the door signaled Robin's return.

"Is it safe to come in?" he asked when she answered the door, and Ianto found himself smiling wryly.

"Yes, I think I've had enough of a meltdown for today."

"Good. I brought fish and chips, since that seemed appropriately English."

Ianto rolled his eyes. "This is Wales."

"Do you want them or not?"

To his surprise, Ianto was hungry for the first time in days, possibly weeks. Robin and Starfire stayed the night, heading back to America early the next morning, but Starfire told him to call her if he needed anything. He promised her he would and actually meant it.

When Jack came over to check on Ianto that day, he couldn't figure out why there were suddenly three bottles of yellow American mustard in the refrigerator. Ianto told him the truth: that they're drinks for a friend. For weeks afterwards, if Ianto needed a laugh all he had to do was picture the confusion on Jack's face.


	3. Afternoon on the Town

Toshiko Sato looked up as a thermos appeared by her elbow, her nose wrinkling in confusion as she looked up at the person who had put it there. "A thermos, Ianto?" she asked.

"Thought you might need more than just a cup for the rest of the day." That didn't end the confusion.

"Where will you be?"

"I'm taking the afternoon off."

Tosh blinked at him. "Good," she said decisively. "You need it."

"That is why you have a thermos, and Owen has decaf." He smiled slightly, and she laughed.

"Go on, head out now before we get a rift alert."

"I thought you had a program to predict those," he teased.

"It's only 90% accurate. Get out while you still can."

She watched him go with a smile, glad to see him feeling light-hearted. They'd all been off their game since Jack's sudden departure some six weeks before, but Ianto seemed to have taken it harder than any of the others. As near as Tosh could tell, her young friend was basically living at the Hub, trying to do not only his own job, but all of the administrative paperwork that none of the rest of them had a clue of how to deal with. In fact, she was pretty sure this was the first time she'd seen him leave the Hub for anything other than an errand since their fearless leader had left.

Tosh had been startled—_not_ shocked, just surprised, really—when she'd seen Jack kiss Ianto. Not because of Jack—he'd made it obvious from Ianto's first day just how attractive he found the younger man—but due to Ianto's reaction. That was the sort of kiss that came from familiarity, from having done it often enough to know how the other person would react.

They'd all noticed, though none of them—not even Gwen, who could be pushy at times—had asked him about it. How could they, when they saw the lost look in his eyes that made them think of when they'd had to kill the Cyberwoman he'd still believed was his Lisa? Ianto didn't talk about his emotions, had an artful way of deflecting when the subject came up—and quietly running away if that didn't work. So they didn't ask….but they did worry in whispers when he was out of earshot.

Today, though…Today he'd looked happy, Tosh realized. Not blissfully so, but happier than she'd seen him since Jack had left. She didn't know what had changed, but she was glad for it. She was even in a generous enough mood to share some of her coffee with Gwen—though only after the other woman had also expressed her belief that an afternoon out of the Hub was just what Ianto needed.

TW TW TW

Normally Tosh spent her free time at home, working on her laptop or watching the sappy movies she secretly loved, but this evening she was feeling restless. She wasn't sure what had even possessed her to head for the little shopping arcade near her flat.

She couldn't help but notice the tall redhead with the not-quite-American accent who was exclaiming over the sorts of curios that the tourists loved. "What of this one?" she asked her companion, who merely raised an eyebrow. Tosh blinked as she recognized the young man with the redhead.

"Ianto?" she said, flabbergasted. She was so used to seeing him in a suit that she literally hadn't known him in casual clothes. He smiled as turned, his usual small twist of lips. His companion, however, flashed her a blinding smile that would rival Jack on his best days.

"Hello, Tosh," he said easily.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Tosh!" exclaimed the redhead. "I am Kory. Ianto has spoken of you often."

"He hasn't mentioned you," she said, shooting her friend a look.

"I am not often around. It is a long way between Cardiff and Gotham." Kory reached for Tosh's hand, causing her to wince. The woman had an impressive grip. "I have not seen him in several months, but he has spoken to me on the phone."

"Really?" asked Tosh as Ianto flushed.

"She has a boyfriend," he said quickly. "One who's not only bigger than me, but more than capable of beating me to a pulp."

Kory laughed. "You know that Robin would not hurt you, Ianto."

"Not as long as I don't hurt you."

"Then you are safe. Anyone who could be kind to me in the circumstances in which we met could not possibly hurt me any other time." Ianto looked a little dark at that, but Tosh didn't call him on it when he said nothing.

"How did you meet?" asked Tosh.

"Not here," said Ianto quietly. "What are you doing out and about anyway?"

"I shared my coffee, so when there was a chance for someone else to leave early, Gwen chose me over Owen."

"I'm sure he would have gladly shared his as well."

"None of us like decaf, Ianto."

Kory laughed. "I had never tried coffee before I last came to visit Ianto, and now I cannot get enough. But what is 'decaf'?" Ianto smirked. Tosh laughed.

"You don't want to know," she assured the other woman.

Kory smiled brightly. "You must have dinner with us. You do not mind, Ianto?"

"Dinner with two beautiful women?" Ianto raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Save me from that torture." Kory laughed and hugged them both to her, causing Tosh to wince at the younger woman's strength. She exchanged a glance with Ianto, who was wearing a similar wince as well as an expression of resignation. Tosh guessed that this was normal.

Thirty minutes later they were seated in a pub near Tosh's flat trying to explain to Kory why putting chocolate sauce on her shepherd's pie was a bad idea. At least, Tosh was. Ianto was suppressing a laugh. In the end, that was why Tosh gave up on the argument. Dressed in casual clothes and just short of giggling, Ianto actually looked his age. It was a nice sight, and worth the disgust generated by watching Kory eat her chocolate-covered dinner.

"This is delicious, though it is a shame they do not have mustard," said Kory cheerily. Tosh started to ask but thought the better of it. She really didn't want to know.

Kory carried most of the conversation, chattering about her life in Gotham with her boyfriend, though she noted that Kory managed to draw more words out of Ianto than Tosh had heard him say in months. Oddly, Tosh found herself opening up as well, making idle small talk in a way she usually didn't.

Ianto excused himself for a moment, and Kory turned to Tosh as soon as he was out of earshot. "I apologize, but I had a motive besides your company for asking you to join us," she said quietly. "Please, tell me more about Jack."

"Jack?' repeated Tosh.

"For a while, Ianto spoke often of Jack. Little things about staying late or working together to catch the things he calls Weevils. But the last three times we have talked, Jack has not been mentioned at all. Everything is about you and Owen and Gwen."

"Jack disappeared," Tosh said softly. "We're not sure where he went, or why. There was an incident and we thought we had lost him—days where he lay d—as though he were dead," Tosh corrected herself quickly. "That was bad enough, but just hours after he woke, he disappeared. We have footage of him running across the Plass, and then he was gone."

Worry and fear slipped into Kory's eyes. "You do not think he has been taken by something."

"No," said Tosh, a trace of bitterness in her voice. "We're pretty sure he left on purpose. After all, he took the time to grab his coat." And that hand in a jar, though she felt it better if she didn't try to explain that.

"That explains much," said Kory softly. "I am sorry to ask behind his back, but he has avoided the subject of Jack all afternoon."

"He does that to us, too. He's really good at it."

"I do not suppose you have a photograph of him? Or of Gwen or Owen? I hear their names so much, and I have no picture to go with them. Ianto says he does not have one and keeps teasing rather than actually finding one for me."

Tosh smiled, and by the time Ianto returned to the table, they were innocuously looking at pictures of the Torchwood team on Tosh's phone. They must have looked too innocent, though, as he raised an eyebrow when he saw them. Before any of them could speak, Tosh's phone rang. She sighed when she realized it was Gwen.

"I'm so sorry, love," came the other woman's voice down the line, "but Owen and I are chasing an alien that's taken us all the way to Swansea and we've just gotten a Weevil alert. I'll have to call Ianto as well, have him meet you at the Hub. I'm so sorry, Tosh."

Tosh sighed. "Don't worry about calling him. He's here. Just send the coordinates to me and we'll take care of it." Kory looked at her curiously, but Ianto's face was resigned.

"Thanks. Give Ianto my apologies as well."

"It happens, Gwen. We'll survive. You and Owen be careful."

"Weevils?" asked Ianto as she hung up.

"Yes," said Tosh. "I'm sorry, Kory, but I'm going to need him for a while."

"May I be of assistance?" asked Kory eagerly. "I am good at fighting the bad guys, so surely Weevils cannot be much more difficult?"

"They do have slightly different laws here than in Gotham," said Ianto mildly.

"But Torchwood is above the law. Robin and the others learned that when they captured me. You can protect me." Tosh blinked at Kory. She'd been captured by Torchwood? But then that meant…Tosh looked closely at her again. The orange cast to her skin, the way even the irises of her eyes were slightly green, the odd pattern of her speech…Tosh was trained to spot aliens, how could she not notice she was having dinner with one?

"I am most useful in a fight," she said again, seeming to take Tosh's incredulity as a doubt of her abilities. Tosh shook her head.

"You have to be careful. They can be dangerous," said Tosh as Ianto settled their bill.

"I can take care of myself," said Kory brightly, and Tosh could have sworn that her eyes actually glowed as she spoke.

"She can," agreed Ianto as he returned to the table. "Come on."

TW TW TW

"So this is a Weevil," said Kory with interest as she stared at the creature they'd taken down. "I do not believe I have seen such a thing before. From where do they come?"

"We don't know," replied Tosh as she scanned it. "Back to the Hub or down to the sewers?"

"No reports of it hurting anyone, and the sewer is closer," replied Ianto.

"I can carry it," volunteered Kory brightly, but before she could lift it she suddenly straightened, her eyes glowing green—this time Tosh was sure she hadn't imagined it. "Duck!" she ordered. A flash of green light flew over her head as Tosh hurriedly complied, striking a second Weevil she hadn't realized was behind her.

Tosh looked at Ianto, who appeared interested but unruffled—_not that he really ever looks ruffled_, she thought. She looked at him questioningly.

"When she refers to her boyfriend as Robin, she's not using his given name," said Ianto mildly, and Tosh's eyes went wide.

"My friends call me Starfire," Kory whispered conspiratorially as she threw a Weevil over each shoulder.

They took the Weevils to the sewers and spent the rest of the evening at Ianto's flat watching bad movies and trying to convince Kory that she didn't need to dip the kettle corn in ketchup. Tosh hadn't had so much fun in months.

A few weeks later, after Ianto had given several interesting pieces of information that directly related to their case, Owen started grumbling. "You think you know everything. Next you'll be telling me you know who the mysterious Batman is."

Ianto smirked. "Actually, I do."

Owen snorted. "Yeah, right."

"He's friends with Robin's girlfriend," said Tosh without looking up. "I've met her."

Gwen's jaw dropped. Owen's eyes narrowed. "Prove it."

Owen spent the next week cleaning out the Weevil cells after Ianto did, in fact, manage to get Batman on the phone.


End file.
